130: Shadow Magic Golden Pill

The capital city, the night was like ink.

A shadow, almost blending into the darkness, quietly coalesced on the eaves of a tall building.

She had no weight and landed without a sound, as if she were merely an illusion left behind by the passing night wind.

The woman had a seductive figure, and her face was veiled in a thin mist, making it hard to see clearly; only her eyes were bright in an eerie way.

"The Imperial Palace... so this is the seat of power for the Great Xia Royal Family? How truly... fragile."

Her voice was very soft, carrying a strange, seductive quality that could seep into the marrow of one's bones.

She was called Ying Mei, a Golden Core Elder of the Shadow Council, a woman who specialized in planting demons within people's hearts.

That old fellow Qiankun Zi had suffered a huge loss, and now it was her turn to clean up the mess, or rather, to try a different way of playing.

She extended a slender finger and flicked it lightly towards the brightly lit Imperial City in the distance.

...

Inside the Demon Suppression Division headquarters, the lights were bright, but the atmosphere was so oppressive it could practically be wrung out like water.

"Again?!" Wei Zheng slammed his fist on the table, making the files jump high into the air. "Sanli Shop in the east of the city, Willow Lane in the west, the south... how many times is this, damn it? They're all just low-class, insignificant demons. Not many in number, but they're just annoying! Like flies in an outhouse, you can't drive them away!"

The Demon Suppression Guards below dared not even breathe loudly.

In the past few days, so-called "demonic disturbances" had been popping up one after another on the outskirts of the capital, keeping the entire Demon Suppression Division in chaos.

Their forces were spread too thin, running themselves ragged, but every time they arrived, only scraps remained—either a few corpses of commoners or some insignificant minions.

"Lord, our men have already been dispatched, but..."

"But what? But you can't catch the real culprit, right?" Wei Zheng rubbed his aching temples, his anger pent up in his chest, unable to find release.

"Master Mu Feng has arrived," came an announcement from the doorway.

Li Dong walked in. Wei Zheng, as if finding a pillar of support, hurriedly went up to meet him. "Master, you've finally come. Please, help me see what on earth is going on!"

Li Dong glanced at the map spread out on the table, where over a dozen incident locations were circled in red ink, chaotic and without any discernible pattern.

"Lord Wei, do you think this is a counterattack from the Shadow Council?" Li Dong asked.

"Doesn't it seem like it? Besides them, who else would dare to cause such trouble in the capital?"

"It seems like it, but also not." Li Dong's fingers traced over the map. "What is the strength of these demons?"

"Most are low-class trash, at most polluting one or two unlucky Cultivators at the Qi Refinement Stage. Once our men arrive, they can basically handle it," Wei Zheng replied.

"That's not right." Li Dong shook his head. "The Shadow Council suffered such a huge loss; even if they wanted revenge, it should be a thunderous strike. What can they gain from these petty disturbances besides being annoying?"

Wei Zheng was stunned. "Master, you mean... a feint to the east to attack in the west?"

"Or rather, drawing the tiger away from the mountain." Li Dong tapped heavily on the center of the map, the location of the Imperial City. "Their true target is not here."

Wei Zheng looked at the map, cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

Just then, a trusted aide hurried in and whispered a few words into Wei Zheng's ear.

Wei Zheng's expression immediately turned grim. He waved the aide away and said to Li Dong, "Master, just received news. Someone is spreading rumors on the black market that the Shadow Council has issued a new bounty, and the target is you."

"Oh? What's the price?" Li Dong was not surprised.

"It's not gold, silver, or Spirit Stones." Wei Zheng's voice was very low. "They say whoever can take you down will receive a secret regarding the 'Ancient Forbidden Power'."

Li Dong did not speak.

This move was far more vicious than a simple assassination. This bounty wasn't for ordinary killers, but for those Evil Path Cultivators who also coveted the Forbidden Power, or even some ancient forces hiding in the shadows.

This was equivalent to roasting him over a fire.

"It seems I am not just a thorn in their side, but also a key," Li Dong thought self-deprecatingly.

"Master, this is a serious matter, you..."

"I know." Li Dong interrupted him. "Compared to this, I am more worried about something else."

He looked up, towards the direction of the Imperial Palace.

...

Yuxiu Palace.

The Seventh Princess Li Qingxuan dismissed all servants and personally brewed tea for Li Dong.

Her complexion was not good, and a lingering worry was hidden deep in her eyes.

"Master Mu Feng, something... has happened in the palace." Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid the walls might hear.

"Please go ahead, Your Highness."

"Recently, things in the palace have been off." Li Qingxuan held the teacup, her fingertips turning white. "An old nanny who has been by my side for ten years suddenly told me the day before yesterday that my father was too harsh, and that the aristocratic families were the foundation of the nation, advising me not to oppose those ministers anymore. Also, a captain of the Imperial Guard yesterday, during training, openly said the Demon Suppression Division acted tyrannically and wrongly accused Commander He Tianzheng."

Li Dong's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.

"What happened after they finished speaking?"

"After they finished, they returned to normal. When I asked them, they were completely bewildered and didn't remember saying anything." Li Qingxuan's voice carried a hint of chill. "It was as if... as if they had been possessed by something."

"Mental influence," Li Dong uttered the four words.

"I thought so too. I have already secretly detained those few people, but I don't know how many more in this palace have been..." She didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

The Imperial Palace, which should have been the safest place in the capital, was now like a sieve, leaking everywhere.

Li Dong set down the teacup, and his [Spiritual Domain] expanded silently, enveloping the entire palace.

After a moment, he spoke: "Your Highness, have you seen any strangers recently, or felt any unusual energy fluctuations in the palace?"

Li Qingxuan thought carefully and shook her head. "No, everything is as usual. This is the most terrifying part; the enemy... I don't even know where they are."

Li Dong did not ask again.

Because just now, his [Spiritual Domain] had captured a trace of an extremely faint, extremely secretive mental fluctuation.

That fluctuation carried no murderous intent; it was as soft as a lover's whisper, yet it carried a bizarre power that eroded the heart. It flashed and vanished, so fast it was almost impossible to capture.

If it weren't for his [Perfect Dao Body] and [Spiritual Domain] being exceptionally sensitive to such powers, he probably wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

An expert. A top-tier expert who played with people's hearts.

Li Dong instantly pieced all the clues together.

The disturbances outside the city were to fix Wei Zheng and the Demon Suppression Division's attention firmly on the outside. The black market bounty was to apply pressure on him, letting all sorts of monsters and demons come to find trouble for him. And the real lethal move was this elusive person; she had already extended her tentacles into the Imperial Palace!

This woman, codenamed "Ying Mei," was not aiming to kill; she was aiming to break their spirits.

Once she gained a foothold in the Imperial Palace and controlled a key figure, or even influenced the Emperor... the consequences would be a hundred times worse than blowing up a flesh altar.

By then, the entire Great Xia Royal Family would begin to rot from within.

"Must flush her out." Li Dong had a plan in mind.

"Does Master have a way?" Li Qingxuan saw Li Dong's expression and knew he must have discovered something.

"Yes. But it requires Your Highness's cooperation."

"Please speak, Master. Whatever it is, I will do it!"

"What she excels at is concealment and mental infiltration, so we will do the opposite." Li Dong looked at the Seventh Princess. "Doesn't she want to sneak in? I will open a door for her and let her crawl in."

"This... isn't this inviting a wolf into the house?" Li Qingxuan was somewhat uneasy.

"If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger cub?" Li Dong stood up. "Since this wolf has come, don't think about letting it leave. Your Highness, from now on, you only need to do one thing."

"What thing?"

"Pretend you know nothing, but show... your anxiety and feeling of helplessness." Li Dong looked at her. "Make her think that your mental defenses have developed a breach."

Li Qingxuan was sharp and immediately understood Li Dong's meaning.

This was... fishing? And the bait was herself.

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Li Dong did not return to his residence, nor did he go to the Demon Suppression Division.

He walked alone on the streets of the capital, his [Spiritual Domain] perception raised to the limit, like an invisible net, carefully screening every strand of abnormal Mental Energy in the air.

He knew that the woman named "Ying Mei" must be observing him from the shadows.

A top-tier hunter would always figure out the prey's background before making a move.

"Want to see my trump cards? Sure." Li Dong thought to himself.

He deliberately slowed his pace, revealing a perfectly appropriate sense of exhaustion on his face. This was for the benefit of the observer in the shadows.

He was gambling, gambling on the opponent's arrogance.

Someone who excelled at mental control would surely develop a strong interest in a target like him with "powerful Mental Energy." As long as he showed a flaw, the opponent would definitely be unable to resist coming to probe.

And his [Spiritual Domain] was not just a shield; it was also the sharpest spear.

As long as she dared to reach out, he was confident that he could follow that invisible thread and drag her out of the endless shadows alive!

The night wind grew colder, and there were few pedestrians on the street.

Li Dong walked to a corner, stopped, and as if tired, leaned against the wall.

He closed his eyes, appearing to rest, but in reality, all his focus was submerged into the [Spiritual Domain].

Come. Let me see how much weight you, a Golden Core Elder of the Council, actually carry.